


chasing the clouds away

by elios (zostir)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Spring, Summer, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25421926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zostir/pseuds/elios
Summary: The night wasn't the only place Rei belonged to.
Relationships: Hakaze Kaoru/Sakuma Rei
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	chasing the clouds away

**Author's Note:**

> these are just a bunch of drabbles i wrote in the past months whenever something reminded me of reikao bc idk how to express my love for this pairing in another way..... please enjoy

The days had everything of summer except for the name. It was still spring but the heat was stifling, the fierce sun was barely attacked by the clouds, and its rays piercing the paulownia branches drew shadows all over the living room.

Kaoru was spending most of his time outside. Although he was quite busy, as all UNDEAD members were — juggling between rehearsals, group and individual jobs, and the quiet all-nighters he spent with Rei, doing a part of the paperwork without a word — he also found time to stroll along the shore. He came back from his walks with his hair slightly tousled, the smell of iodine filling the whole apartment. Rei never admitted it, but he quite liked holding him at those times, when Kaoru's skin was warm against his cold arms.

The solstice was coming and the days were offering a stronger resistance to the night now. Rei was still the same, with his face too pale to look healthy. Longer days meant he was less energetic, and if not for the blessing of the air-con in his workplaces, he'd spend the time sleeping in his coffin or, when he was home, in the double bed Kaoru bought when they settled in, as his companion refused to sleep on anything that was not a proper mattress.

With the return of summer weather, Kaoru was literally blossoming, while Rei felt too lethargic to be active. They were like communicating vessels, one thriving in the environment that the other disliked. However, as the day succeeds the night, the summer succeeds winter. So now was Kaoru's time, the moment he was out of Rei's reach. 

Yet this season was Rei's favourite moment of the year.

For his boyfriend had then a dazzling smile, akin to a small star, and it never failed to warm his heart. Kaoru wasn't a soft breeze Rei couldn't grasp, he was the whole summer, taking Rei with him for a thousand adventures — a night on the beach laying under a starry sky, a hike in the mountains, a walk between the waves of laughter coming from a festival, even the sudden running when you have to buy an umbrella at a _kombini_ because you forgot to bring one — and now Rei loved the season more than he thought possible.

He had looked at the abyss, and he had been transformed: now the night wasn't the only place he belonged to.

  
  


*

They tried to sleep at the same time whenever they could. 

At first, though, they never did. Rei stayed up all night long, sitting at his desk most of the time, and he only got up from time to time to cast a glance at the blond sleeping in their bedroom. When the day rose, he tried to get a few hours of sleep, and Kaoru was the one watching over him. The agreement didn't last long. So to accommodate Rei's condition, most of UNDEAD's jobs started in the afternoon and finished late at night. Now, Rei didn't wait until sunrise to join his boyfriend in their bed, and Kaoru had said goodbye to his mornings.

With the strong heat of the last few days, the presence of another body under the damp sheets was unpleasant. Yet Rei wouldn't trade that presence for anything in the world. His nose against the back of Kaoru's neck caught the scent of hot sweat and body lotion, and he knew that if he pressed his lips to the hollow of his nape, he would feel the slow, steady beat of his blood against his mouth. He did not, however, unwilling to exceed Kaoru's limits; it was a sensitive place, a place he only liked to offer when he was completely at ease, and Rei would never abuse that trust. Nothing prevented him, however, from braving the torrid atmosphere of their bed to get closer, pressing his pelvis against the hip of his companion, knee against knee, sliding his arm to the limit where his t-shirt was lifted, at the border between fabric and skin.

He felt Kaoru stir slightly against him, but he didn't move any more, didn't try to escape the hold. With the air-conditioning off, the contact was too warm but Rei refused to let go. It was like a dream, to hold someone when they wake up; a utopia beyond the reach of the vampire who dozed off in a coffin, but the human he became had earned the right to such happiness.

Then Kaoru slowly pulled away and turned to face Rei. His features did not have their usual luminance, and his eyes only lightened up until they rested on him. A few loose locks fell in front of them in disorder, the blond of his dishevelled hair mingling with the light brown of his eyes, the two colours becoming one in the half-light. Everything in him was messy and wrinkled:, a crease left by the pillow crossing his cheek out, the redness of his complexion, the wide collar of his t-shirt pulled down by his gesture, revealing the birth of his torso. His hand reached out to Rei, cleared the black curls of Rei's hair from his lashes. And Rei's own appearance, for sure, was a reflection of the other man's, equally chaotic and vulnerable. He realized the extent of their intimacy; it was as if the barriers were lowered between them, there was no _I don't like sleeping next to a man_ , not even jokingly.

It seemed that Kaoru was considering the same thing; and Rei knew, at this moment, that he was truly loved, that his feelings were truly requited.

"Turn on the air-con, please." The command was on Rei's side, not far from the light switch; he straightened up, stretched out of the bed and pushed the button. When he turned around, Kaoru had pushed the sheets back and laid down on Rei's pillow. He was watching him with an expression so soft, Rei wondered if he was not in the middle of a dream.

But it was all very real; he was wide awake, and Kaoru was looking at him with this fond gaze.

"You will forgive me for not kissing you, Kaoru-kun, but leaning in would hurt my old back."

Kaoru didn't look upset by the rejection. " Later then. It's too early for a kiss, anyway."

Rei glanced at their alarm clock and grinned. "It's already nearly 3 pm. Aren't you changing your habits Kaoru-kun?"

"Whose fault is it…" Kaoru whispered, and closed his eyes again. 

Yes, in the end, they had found their balance. They had been slow to achieve this, had struggled for years to overcome their differences. But perhaps they were not of opposite natures; perhaps their hearts had always been alike and were only asking to be reunited.

  
  


*

  
  


The balcony was neither quite in full light nor completely immersed in the shade, during the day. After the sun rose, a few of its rays bypassed the branches that protected it, and over time infiltrated through the flaws of the tree. Rei truly appreciated the specific luminance of the place, which he found relaxing; Kaoru was less of a fan, and sometimes he complained that they couldn't stay outside most of the time because of the shadow of the paulownia, as it chilled the air too much.

On such days, however, the branches hardly fought the heat. Kaoru still took all his meals outside without being bothered by the heaviness of the air, perhaps hoping to catch the slightest breeze. Rei joined him sometimes, sitting on one of the two plastic chairs on the balcony — they hardly needed more: when Koga and Adonis visited them (which barely happened), they just used the chairs from the kitchen. Rei was suffering on the balcony; being awake in broad daylight and enduring the horrors of the sun when summer had not yet occurred was arguably the worst situation for him.

All of Kaoru's attention was focused on his plate; while Rei wasn't a good cook, Kaoru could do almost all his favourite dishes. Rei was trying to learn, though, more to please his boyfriend than for his own convenience. The wind shook the branches of the tree, and Rei's hair danced before his eyes. He had his arms crossed, and a glass of tomato juice was resting on the edge of the table, so close that an unfortunate elbow would throw it to the ground. Not that Rei moved; he remained motionless, unchanging — at such moments Kaoru told him he looked like he barely breathed.

And then, suddenly, without a warning, Kaoru's gaze rose to him. The carefree expression on his face froze for a second, then his smile rippled like water, his eyes warmed up. He looked like another man: he was no longer the solar beauty that Rei had admired from afar for years, but a partner who had sworn to stay by his side until the end of time.

Rei would never have hoped to be the target of such a look — similar to his own. He would never have believed that Hakaze Kaoru would watch him, with that soft smile and those calm eyes conveying the deepest affection.

He knew, however, that his gaze on Kaoru at that moment was pretty much the same.

  
  


***

  
  


The rainy season returned, and the showers chased the sun away for a while, forcing the star of the day to take shelter behind the thick clouds.

Electricity was in the air, like a feeling of anticipation that made Rei feel like time was running out. UNDEAD had cancelled its participation in an outdoor concert due to the weather; waterspouts had fallen all day on the stage and organizers had preferred cancelling the evening’s performance. Their other jobs continued, of course, but with the real summer approaching, Rei was taking less of them and he spent long hours inside the apartment. Sometimes he took it as an opportunity to take care of his papers, but other times he did nothing at all, and lying on the couch with his eyes closed was already enough for him.

Occasionally, Kaoru stayed with him, and he, too, grabbed a few moments of quiet while they still had a chance. He sat next to Rei, allowing him to rest his head on his lap. At times he protested almost vigorously against this treatment, claiming that he was not a pillow and that it was not the kind of thing to do with another boy anyway, but he always gave in, and Rei had come to understand that it was almost a habit for him, as if to remind him that he was special and he wouldn't want to let anyone else on his lap.

The rain drummed against the windows in a rhythm that almost reminded him of an old chorus he had in mind in DEADMANZ' times. Closing his eyes, Rei felt sleep deprived.

"Kaoru-kun, sing me something."

He expected a refusal from Kaoru — to hear him say, _I only do fan service for fans, Rei-kun_ , and he would have responded, _but I'm your biggest fan, Kaoru-kun_. 

Instead, Kaoru replied, "What do you want?"

Rei didn't know what to choose at first. Singing their own songs, while he could hear them in practice, seemed to ruin his chance. But then what else could he offer him?

Then Kaoru began to hum: " _You definitely can't save me, not even I myself can heal me._ "

Rei shivered as he recognized what he was singing. This solo where Kaoru had revealed himself completely, exposing his doubts and fears to a young woman to whom he promised nothing more than a broken heart. Rei had always found this song beautiful. Kaoru's fans had never understood how just the lyrics were, how sincerely Kaoru thought he had only pain to offer.

" _Please, I just want you to hold this hand._ "

"Rei-kun, that line doesn't come right away," Kaoru corrected, but his voice was extremely soft, it was not meant to be a remark.

Rei wondered what expression he was making at the moment, but he didn't want to deprive his companion of the intimacy he enjoyed when Rei had his eyelids closed. "You didn't even start with the first line."

Kaoru chuckled. It was not a painful laugh, however, not that of a broken man who still dreamed of love; it seemed that Kaoru had been saved, had been able to heal since high school. "You're right, I should start from the beginning then."

So he resumed, and as Rei let himself be lulled by his voice, he could not help but murmur another word, one that had marked his memory with the red iron. " _From now on, that smile belongs only to me, Right in the middle of this broken world._ "

  
  


*

  
  


Kaoru came back drenched by rain. He placed his umbrella sheath in the hall.

"I gave my umbrella to a damsel in distress," he explained while removing his shoes.

"My my, Kaoru-kun is still a charmer," Rei said.

He teased Kaoru, but only because he liked to see the pink hue of his cheeks when he was embarrassed. Kaoru knew Rei trusted him, anyway, he was aware it was a joke.

"Rei-kun is not the only one who has the right to enjoy my charms," Kaoru retorted. Then, turning his back to go to the bathroom, he added, "Ah, but she was with her boyfriend. They were both UNDEAD fans. And he was _really_ cute, you know? Quite my type."

He closed the door behind him, and Rei felt his own face burn. _It's not fair, Kaoru-kun. If now other men are also my rivals, how can I win?_

He settled down on the couch, distractedly listening to the jets of water coming from the bathroom. He was pretty much done with the papers Eichi had assigned Keito and him, and he took the time to check his unit's social media accounts, something he usually didn't like to do because he and the technology were like chalk and cheese. He liked to read what was said about his partners in the comments. Kaoru had always been more popular with female audiences, but now he was reaching a much wider audience. More and more, his fans were praising qualities that once had gone completely overlooked, like his sensitivity, his generosity, his ability to be both an object of fantasy and an ideal best friend. Reading these comments, Rei couldn't help but think about what he himself had felt the first time he laid eyes on Kaoru. About all those emotions that had filled him for the months that followed; he still remembered the way his heart raced as he glanced at the gold of Kaoru's hair, the panic settling in when the other stared back, his eagerness to please Kaoru without knowing how to go about it. Rei had finally found the right word to describe this feeling: helplessness. He, who did not know how to keep anyone by his side, who made himself hated by the one who was most dear to his heart, did not know how to seduce such a person.

The bathroom door opened behind his back, Kaoru's footsteps came closer. He sat down next to Rei, resting his already dried head against his shoulder. The smell of his shampoo brushed Rei's nostrils; they weren't using the same products so that their relationship wouldn't be too obvious, but it was all to his advantage, as there was something sweet about smelling a different scent on him. It was Kaoru's scent, a scent that was only his own, and Rei couldn't help but drop a kiss on the top of his head.

"You are on your way to becoming the most popular in our group, Kaoru-kun. I don't know if I should congratulate you or feel threatened. At this rate, there will be only one main attraction."

He felt Kaoru's laughter resounding against his neck. "What are you talking about, Rei-kun?" You are the leader, the sexy and mysterious vampire. Of course, _you_ are the most popular? "

From him, it was a compliment; he rarely mentioned Rei's stage persona, let alone concede the victory to him regarding their popularity. Between the two of them, there was sometimes this little competition between them, to whoever would ravish the most hearts. Deep down, Rei had always considered that he could only lose. After all, he had succumbed to Kaoru long before Kaoru deigned to look in his direction.

"Come on, I'm just an old man who works too much. You have the strength of youth on your side."

"You can play several instruments. That's super cool."

"And you're a surfer. Surfers are hot."

"And you're a hard worker. On stage, no one shines more than you."

"You don't even have to train a lot for your performance to be outstanding, Kaoru-kun. You could easily steal the spotlight if you wished."

Kaoru sighed. He put his arm over Rei's chest, hugging him. "Oh, shut up. It's totally your fault that I can't claim to be straight anymore, so it's _your_ win."

Rei could say a lot more about Kaoru, though. That he took better care of their cadets than he thought. That he always treated others with courtesy and that he was clearly the best date Rei had ever had. That he knew how to cook like a god. That he was so, so accommodating and pleasant to be with. 

Rei could have spoken of his haunting beauty, the one that had brought Rei to his doom.

(Or maybe he had been saved by Kaoru. He didn't really know.)

"Alright, fine. I am the luckiest man on earth. Your loss, Kaoru-kun."

  
  


***

  
  


Summer fell upon them with the brutality of a thunderstorm. With a clap of thunder, the sun drove the clouds away; the sky had turned so blue that Rei's eyes hurt just to look up. He had only one desire: to spend most of his days in the shelter of his apartment, with the shutters closed, dozing on the sofa with the little Ritsu plush he had kept for all these years. Its hair had faded a bit, but the red in its eyes had retained all its ardour. Rei had often wondered how they had managed to reproduce the exact shade of his brother's irises so perfectly. 

Now and then, Kaoru would take the plush, hold it to Rei's head, and say, _those eyes are yours too, Rei-kun_. In those moments, Rei knew that Kaoru preferred him to Ritsu.

But his plans were compromised by an exhilarating Kaoru who pulled him into their room and made him change. Rei grumbled that he didn't want to go out; it was only four, far too early for him to deign to face the solar enemy, but Kaoru did not listen to his protests.

"Come on, Rei-kun, as long as you stay in the shade, it doesn't matter if you're outside or inside. So you _are_ going to accompany me because the weather is beautiful and I will go crazy if I stay locked between four walls. "

Who could resist such a smile? Rei couldn't.

The heat outside was stifling. After taking just a few steps, Rei was already regretting his decision. The sand going into his sandals was hot against his skin, and when Kaoru spread a bath towel on the ground for him, Rei threw himself onto it, a cry of agony on his lips. At least the parasol protected him from the solar enemy.

"Kaoru-kun, you want to kill me." He protested.

Kaoru laughed. "Come on, Rei-kun, if I really wanted to kill you, I would stick a stake in your heart. It's a lot faster and I'm sure I won't miss you."

"But what kind of unworthy boyfriend are you ?!" Rei cried, falsely offended.

"The kind who knows your weaknesses and how to exploit them." Kaoru replied without losing his smile.

He had become good at this game, Rei thought; now he knew exactly what to say to make him blush. Fortunately, it was easy to pretend that his cheeks were on fire because of the sun. Kaoru dropped his shirt to the floor, revealing the tempting lasciviousness of his back muscles, and Rei couldn't look away. To be an idol meant to meet standards of beauty, and Kaoru was the perfect illustration of that. Tall, both muscular and slim, with a devastating smile and a sweet face, he represented everything their fans could desire — and the fantasies of Rei, which he had held at bay for all these years, embodied in this sudden sight.

Kaoru was aware of his gaze; he winked at him before walking away towards the sea, as swift as the summer breeze.

From where he was, Rei couldn't catch up to him without exposing himself to the sun. But this back which he had gazed at for so long, unable to reach it, no longer seemed so lonely to him. The certainty that Kaoru would turn around, that he would go back and beach beside him, his hair full of salt and dripping in the crook of his neck, was enough to soothe his pounding heart.

 _I'm a vampire_ , he liked to say, unable to stay outside in broad daylight without succumbing to lethargy. However, sheltered under the parasol, he felt more alive than ever, eager to embrace this summer which he had always hated and which now he was beginning to find beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> [feather heartache's lyrics](https://ensemble-stars.fandom.com/wiki/UNDEAD_Album) are so sad i'm ;;; always sobbing for rei & kaoru anyway  
> i'm 99% sure i'll write a fall/winter part and put it as a chapter 2 so stay tuned? though it'll take time


End file.
